ILO: International labor organization
International Labor Organization, abbreviation ILO English International Labor Organization [ ɪ ntə næ ʃ nl le ɪ bə ɔ ː gəna ɪ ze ɪ ʃ n], abbreviation ILO [a ɪ el ə ʊ ], French Bureau International du Travail [by ro ε tεrnasj ɔ nal dy tra vaj], UN agency responsible for labor and social policy (since 1946); Headquarters: Geneva; 187 member states (April 2018).
According to Abbreviationfinder, the ILO was founded in 1919 on the initiative of a trade union through the Versailles Peace Treaty (League of Nations) on the basis of the recognition “that world peace can only be built on social justice in the long term.” Tasks: 1) Establishing a collection of international conventions and recommendations known as the International Labor Code, which lay down minimum standards that can be used as a basis for policy, legislation and practice in the member states. These standards uphold basic human rights in working life, guarantee, among other things. freedom of association, prohibit forced and child labor and help to eliminate discrimination in professional life. Other regulations promote full employment, vocational training and social security, protect the life and health of workers, and improve working conditions and relationships. The application is monitored by ILO bodies. 2) Technical cooperation (development aid); an extensive program should be v. a. Helping developing countries Be able to meet ILO standards and make the most of their workforce. The focus is on job promotion as a measure in the fight against mass poverty, training and further education of employees and managers (International Training Center in Turin), support for employers’ associations and trade unions. Special programs aim v. a. on older workers, women, people with disabilities and migrant workers. From Germany z. B. co-financed a program against child labor. 3) Research, documentation and information in labor and social affairs to scientifically underpin the standard-setting activity and technical assistance of the ILO, inter alia. by the International Institute for Labor Affairs, Geneva.
The ILO owes its particular importance to the development of international social policy to its tripartite organizational structure (tripartism), in which employee and employer representatives participate in decision-making alongside government delegates. Organs: 1) The International Labor Conference (ILC), the annual general assembly of the member states (two government representatives, one employer and one employee representative), adopts new labor standards and recommendations, the program of activities and the budget and elects the administrative board every three years. 2) The Board of Directors (28 government representatives, 14 each employer and employee representatives) makes important program decisions and draws up the budget. 3) The International Labor Office (IAA) with around 1,900 employees worldwide acts as the permanent secretariat of the organization; its general director is elected by the board of directors for a five-year term. Regional and branch offices are assigned to the IAA. – In recognition of its contribution to improving economic and social conditions and its commitment to the protection of human rights in working life, the ILO was awarded the 1969 Nobel Peace Prize.
UN: The budget
The Central UN has a special regular budget that is adopted by the General Assembly for two years at a time. It shall, among other things, cover the costs of the main bodies’ activities.
Auxiliary bodies and programs are funded mainly through voluntary contributions from Member States. Outside the regular budget is also the Member States’ mandatory contribution to peacekeeping operations (in addition to the costs of individual operations exceeding the regular budget). For these, there is a special contribution scale, where the great powers in the Security Council pay more than other member states.
The bulk of the regular budget will be covered by mandatory contributions from Member States. Each country must pay a pre-determined share of the budget. The quotas are based on the country’s share of the member countries’ total gross national income (GNI), where factors such as low per capita income or high external debt are taken into account. The minimum contribution is 0.001 percent of the budget and the maximum limit is 22 percent. In addition to the USA (22%), Japan (10.8%) and Germany (7%) were the countries that contributed the most money to the UN budget 2013-2014.
Previously, the United States accounted for a quarter of the budget, but in the autumn of 2000, the country managed to get a review of the grant scales, which led to a reduction in its contribution to 22 percent. That there is a danger that the United States alone is responsible for a large part of the budget, the UN experienced for the first time in the mid-1980’s, when the country paid only half of the mandatory contribution. The result was that the UN’s already bad finances deteriorated dramatically.
Following budgetary reforms, the United States again paid its full contribution. But in the second half of the 1990’s, the United States again began to withhold its support and conditional payments for reforms. The reduction in contribution levels to UN activities from 2001 made the US Congress willing to open its wallet. But in recent years, US debt has periodically increased again. At the end of the twentieth century, the United States repaid debts to the UN, and in early 2011 the country was said to have reduced its outstanding payments to the organization by a third. But in May 2012, the United States again owed the UN regular budget just over $ 700 million, while the total debt of UN members was just over $ 1 billion. At the same time, the United States also owed a budget to peacekeeping operations, which accounted for a quarter of what the Member States owed in total.
The regular budget for the two-year period 2013-2014 included $ 5.5 billion, while the budget for peacekeeping operations was $ 7.8 billion in 2013-2014.
